Hey! My name is Juan Vargas and I am the founder of Red Cardinal Studios (LLC)
I am first and foremost and illustrator who has a deep passion for story telling through the use of dynamic and captivating compositions, following the mark and consequent impact that the masters contributed to this vast artistic field.
Like many, I began my journey at an early age, drawing and painting whenever I had a chance, inspired by the animated shows and movies I grew up watching, exploring different mediums like graphite and ink on paper or oil and acrylic on canvas. In addition to the animated classics, I was also fascinated by the unique look that graphic novels carried, getting lost in the panels with beautiful linework and astonishing environments, all put together with a well thought out composition, and without leaving the story and plot aside, of course.
And so, I began working on short stories of my own, making comics that later my friends and classmates would look forward to reading after class, and little by little, and without knowing, I was falling in love with the art of writing and storytelling, but also, saying a lot with only images and illustrations and letting the imagination run free.
After dropping out of college while pursuing a career in marketing and advertising, and doing it a second time after going for graphic design, I decided to just go for it and become an illustrator, getting a job in the service and food industry and doing my art as a freelancer for many years to come.
At this point in my life I made sure to get the basics and learn as much as I could from those I looked up to in the current professional fields. Amazing artists like Aaron Blaise with all his online courses on character design and animation, Numecaniq with his vast knowledge on fast and fluid animation using Photoshop, Even Amundsen and his incredible level and attention to detail when creating and illustrating original characters, and many others from my childhood, like James Baxter, Frank Miller, Bryan Konietzko, just to name a few.
And then, those that for me are the masters of the new era. The pioneers that built upon the knowledge from those in Europe and helped create an unstoppable artistic movement in America with the turn of the century. Legends like Charles Dana Gibson, Norman Rockwell, Joseph Christian Leyendecker and others that came later like the cartoonist Austin Briggs. All incredible minds whose love for illustrating and painting gave birth to an art style that would go on to live for ever and inspire many generations of artists and millions of people, like myself.
